Dolus Mendacii
by Lina Cross
Summary: Secrets and lies of the past have no place among the present. But as far as Jesse is concerned, they have everything to do with the future. Sequel to The Past Should Stay Forgotten. R&R!
1. Reunion

"Jessica? Jessica, I need to speak with you! Where are you – Ah! There you are."

"I've been here the whole time." said Jesse, leaning against the door frame as she looked at the doctor.

Helen Magnus paused for a moment. "Of course you were."

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Jesse asked, biting into an apple.

"Well, There's a visitor here that I thought you should meet." Magnus smiled. "Come with me. He's down in the foyer."

Jesse followed the doctor through the Sanctuary and into the front entranceway. As they past through the Shoe, she waved at the Mermaid in her tank. She'd made friends with most of the inhabitants of the place since she'd arrived, which were many and totally out of the ordinary. She supposed that was why they were called Abnormals.

"Jessica, I would like you to meet Jordan Duxon."

Jesse's jaw dropped. Standing right there in front of her was a man she hadn't seen in at least fifteen years. "Jordan!" she shrieked, running up and throwing her arms around the tall young man. "Oh, my God! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Hey, kiddo." he said casually, though he sounded close to tears. "I missed ya."

His voice broke on the last word, and that sent Jesse crying. "I missed you, too. Oh, my God! Jordan!" she sobbed. After all this time, she couldn't believe she was seeing him again. He wasn't a thread connecting her to her past. He was an entire rope.

"I thought you were dead. I couldn't get a hold of you." he said, now obviously crying and hugging her tighter.

"I know, I'm sorry." she said. "I couldn't! I couldn't, Jordan. They – they erased my memory, they erased you!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." he assured her, stroking her hair. "It's okay, I'm here now. Don't worry."

There was something very familiar about the scene, but Jesse assumed it was what happened after their parents died. They just stayed like that for a while, feeling immensely comforted by each others' presence. Magnus stood off to the side, smiling at the two siblings and feeling as though finally something about her work was complete.

Jordan sniffed and pulled back a little. "Hey, guess who I brought with me." he said shakily.

"Who?" Jesse asked, wiping her eyes.

He went to the door and opened it, then waved for someone outside to come in. "They're in the car." he explained. He opened the door wider, and the moment she saw the three people enter, it was too much. She collapsed to the floor, engulfed in tears.

"No, no, sweety don't cry!" said the first girl. "We're here now. It's all right."

Jesse couldn't even get the words out. She didn't know what to say. Crissa was crouched right in front of her. The girl she'd believed dead because of the monster attack.

"She's right, my darling." said the other woman. "There's nothing to cry about. You musn't be upset."

This woman was Delilah Duxon, Jesse's sister-in-law who had taken her in those days before Jordan got her to America. Following in her wake was a six-year-old boy. "This is Jason, our son. Jason, say hi to Aunt Jesse."

The small boy looked at his aunt, but he said absolutely nothing. Instead, he simply stepped forward and hugged the crying girl.

Jordan stopped dead as he walked over to them. His jaw dropped, as did Crissa's and Delilah's. Jesse was only slightly startled but otherwise not shocked at the boy's immediate liking to her.

"Ja-Jason? Jordan stuttered. "D-do you like Aunt Jesse?"

The boy didn't respond. He just held onto Jesse as though he'd known her for years. "What's the matter?" Jesse asked.

"Jason's severely autistic." Crissa answered as Delilah began to sob. "He doesn't normally respond to his parents, and he won't go near strangers."

"Maybe it's because I'm family." she suggested, though thoroughly shocked herself.

"I don't know." said Jordan. "But this is absolutely incredible."

"What's going on here?" someone who was not originally in the room asked. Jesse turned and saw Henry enter, looking confused at all the crying people, but mostly at Jesse.

"It's a little reunion, Henry. We managed to locate Jessica's family." said Magnus, she herself tearing up.

"Oh. Well, I hate to intrude upon such a feely-good moment, but we got some test results back that I figured you'd want to take a gander at." he said, showing Magnus his touch-screen control pad.

She studied the pad for a moment as the newly reunited family talked in low voices. "Yes, yes, you're quite right. I do find this rather intriguing." she said, more to herself than to Henry. She handed back the pad and approached Jordan, who had his arm around his sister. "Jordan, whenever you're ready, will you have Jesse lead you to my office?"

"Now?" he asked, wiping his eyes.

"No, no. When you're ready. I can have my servant take you to your rooms if you would like more privacy."

"That would be wonderful, thank you." he said, turning back to his sister and murmuring something. Jesse nodded and stood, helped by Crissa and Delilah. Magnus noted with interest how the family didn't react to seeing her Bigfoot-like servant, whom most were intimidated by.

"Henry," she murmured. "I would like you to come to my office with me. We need to discuss these results.

**. . .**

Jordan tapped on the slightly open door with his knuckles. "Dr. Magnus? You wanted to see me?" he called.

"Yes, Jordan, come in, come in." she said rising from her chair. The man entered, then seated himself where Magnus indicated. "I wanted to speak with you about your sister." she began.

"Has she done something wrong?" he asked.

"No, far from it. But I wasn't sure if you knew about what happened to her after you got her to America."

Jordan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "They got her, didn't they?" he asked in a low voice.

She was surprised. "Could you be more specific?" 

"There was this cult or something that was after her when we were in London. We didn't tell her because we didn't want to scare her. I thought she'd be safe here, but I suppose not."

"Could you elaborate on this cult?"

"They knew about her...difference from other people, and I guess they wanted that for themselves. I can't say what they called themselves, but I know they'd do anything to get at her. They killed our parents."

"Wait, you say this cult killed your parents? Jessica told us it was some sort of feminine monster." said Magnus, confused.

"They must have given her something, a hallucinogen. Made her see things different from reality. I know nothing of a monster girl." he said worriedly.

"Maybe there was something she missed." said Magnus. "But there are other things we must discuss. We did some blood tests on your sister so we could tell her why everyone was afraid of her when she was younger."

"What? Why would you do that?" he asked, suddenly tense.

"She wanted to know more about her forgotten past." she told him, startled. "You would take that from her?"

"There's nothing to take." he snapped. "We loved her, she was family! We were never afraid of her."

"That isn't how she saw things."

"Dammit! You had no right to do that!"

"She asked us and she is of an age where she is allowed to make that decision." Magnus stated firmly. "Care to explain exactly why you are becoming so upset?"

"She's just a normal person. There was never anything wrong with her, she just thinks differently from other people. That's why the Cabal wanted her!"

"Mr. Duxon," she said coldly, removing her glasses. "You told me you didn't know the name of the cult."

"I-I didn't – I just remembered – Dammit, Doctor, you need to just stay out of what isn't your business!"

"Jordan, I am a doctor of Abnormals and as such this _is_ my business!" she growled, rising. "Jessica's bloodwork shows traces of Abnormality the likes of which I have never seen. She needs a home where she can learn about herself and try to control it."

"There's nothing wrong with her and you'll do well to never mention it to her!" Jordan exclaimed, standing and leaving the room.

Magnus glared at his retreating figure, then she pulled out her phone. "Henry, I want you to get m everything you can on Jordan Duxon." she said.

"You got it, Doc."

**. . .**

Jesse stood before the vanity in her room, eternally grateful Crissa and Delilah had decided to go to their rooms for the night. It was happening again, and she knew they'd want to help. But they couldn't. No one could, not even Magnus.

She gripped the wood as pain engulfed her, and she stared at her reflection, tears running down her face. There was no physical difference, but she could feel it. Something clawing its way out of her. She couldn't let it. She wouldn't let it.

The moment she thought those words, she fell to the floor in agony. All those years of awful headaches that often kept her awake at night seemed like nothing. This was torture, and there was nothing to compare it to. She was changing. Something was changing her. Any way she looked at it, she knew she was no longer Jessica Duxon. She was something else.

Jesse gripped the wood and hauled herself to her feet, continuing to stare at her reflection. "Who are you!" she shrieked, knocking several things off the table-top with a defeated sweep of her arm.


	2. Fear

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sanctuary or its characters. I do own Jessica and her family.

**. . .**

"Good morning, Jesse." said Magnus, looking up from her laptop. The corner of her mouth twitched as she took in the girl's plaid pajama pants and the blue shirt. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, it's okay." she said groggily, running a hand through her long hair. "Needed to get up anyways. What do you need?"

"We were taking a look at your bloodwork, and-" Henry began.

"Oh, the bloodwork?" said Jesse flippantly. "We don't really need to go over that, do we?"

Henry stared at her. "You went through two weeks of testing to get this. Why are you backing out?"

"I – I'm not backing out, I just...Okay, what did you find?" she asked nervously.

Magnus looked at her from above her reading glasses, then turned back to her laptop. "Well, it seems you have an extraordinarily rare Abnormality in your blood."

"How rare?" Jesse asked.

"I have never seen anything like it before." said Magnus. "There's absolutely nothing in your DNA I can put together to make sense of. I don't even think you have a species." The doctor gave her a stunned look. "I think you're either the last or simply the only one."

"Yes, but the only one of what?" Jesse asked.

"I really don't know."

"Well, not yet, anyway." said Henry. "We got some stuff cookin but for now we're just goin off whatever we can see."

"So what does that mean for me?" Jesse asked.

"We were hoping you could tell us." said Magnus, removing her glasses. "Will said you used to have headaches at night. Is that still happening?"

"No." she lied. She didn't want them to know anything about what went on behind her locked door. She didn't want them doing unwanted tests on her. "I think it had something to do with getting my memory back."

"Ah. I see." said the doctor, seeming as though she didn't entirely believe the girl but saying nothing. "Anything out of the ordinary happen to you that you know shouldn't happen?"

Jesse thought this time before answering. She knew Dr. Magnus had known she'd lied. But she couldn't let anyone know. "Not that I can think of."

Magnus nodded. "I see. Well, I suppose there's nothing further to say, so you may go get breakfast."

"Thanks for the info." Jesse said, turning to leave.

"Hey, Jess, wait a sec." said Henry, jogging over to her. "I heard yelling and stuff coming from your room last night." he said in a low voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just watching a movie on my ipod." she said casually. "I yell at the characters sometimes."

He gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't sure if he should believe her. "Okay. Well, maybe you should take it easy for a couple days. You don't look so good."

"It's eight in the morning, Henry." she said. "I never look so good at that time."

**. . .**

Jesse walked down the hall on the way to her room when someone grabbed her and pulled her to the side. She was about to yell when she realized it was Will. "Oh, it's you." she said, hand over her heart from the scare.

"Did I startle you?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

"A little." she admitted. "What are you doing?"

"Well, since your family arrived, we haven't had much time to do this." He pulled her in, hand on her lower back, and kissed her.

She smiled into his lips. It felt like so long since they'd been alone. She was glad for the interruption.

Suddenly, there was a cough from behind them. They stopped kissing as though caught in a criminal act, and Jesse turned around. "Oh, hi, Jordan." she said a little breathlessly. "We were just-"

"I know what you were 'just.'" he said, looking a little as though he were punched in the gut, but he recovered himself. "Next time, do it in a closet or something."

"Yeah, I need to get to the...um...thing." Jesse giggled, straightening her shirt. She looked at Will to ask him to lunch later, but he looked a little surprised and scared at being caught by his girlfriend's big brother while he was making out with her. "I'll just catch you later." she told him, straightening his collar.

"Uh, Jess, while I've got you over here, Delilah wanted me to tell you she left something in your room she though you'd like." said Jordan.

"Thanks, bro." Jesse said, heading to her room. She was just thinking about going to visit the Shoe when she stopped dead in the doorway. Little Jason was seated on her bed, staring at a small notebook she wrote in when she got bored. His little legs dangled over the side, and he looked completely content to just sit and stare.

"Whatcha lookin at, bud?" she asked quietly, going to sit next to him on the bed. He looked up at her, but said nothing. "Are you reading my stories?"

Jason looked back down at the notebook, turning back the page with a pudgy little hand. He looked back up at her, as if to say something.

"Do you want me to read it to you?" she asked. He just kept staring at her with his big brown eyes. It struck her just how much the boy looked like his father. She assumed Jordan must be very proud to have a son. She'd never though about it before, but she wondered if maybe she would ever have children.

Jesse reached over and gently tugged the notebook out of his grasp, and he gave it up willingly. She looked at the page he was on, and saw it was the story of a demon girl she'd written a few months back. "Is this what you want to hear?"

The boy just stared at her, so she returned her attention to the notebook and began reading. "Dementia stared at her reflection in the window, willing her mind to believe this was real, that it was actually happening. Now was the time to fight.

"She arched her back as the change came upon her. First, the horns appeared, then the fangs. The pointed tail surfaced, then the hair changed from bleached-blond to black. Her eyes, always the last to change, became red as the rage took over her. She-"

Suddenly, Jason started making high-pitched wailing sounds. "What is it?" she asked worriedly. "What's wrong? Is it too scary for you?"

He didn't answer her. Didn't even look at her. He merely stared at the door, seeming to be frightened. Jesse followed his gaze, but saw nothing. Just then, her head began to hurt as it had the night before. "Ow!" she whispered, holding her head. "No, not now." She opened her eyes and looked at the small boy still looking fearfully at the door. "Jason, you need to go now." she told him, scooping him up off the bed. "Aunt Jess will see you later, okay?"

Jason wailed in protest as she carried him to the door. He struggled against her arms, but she held him firmly.

"Hey, Jess." said Henry, coming down the hallway with the Big Guy by his side. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just need some time to myself for a while." she snapped, struggling to keep Jason from going back into the room.

"No need to bite my head off, I get it." he said, looking concerned. "Maybe I should take the little guy for a while. You don't look so hot."

"Thank you, Henry, for the update." she said shortly. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but you just need to leave me alone for a while."

"Yeah, Jess, got it." he said, picking up the squirming Jason. Suddenly, the Big Guy grabbed her as she tried to go back into the room and held her close to him, placing a big hairy hand on her forehead.

"Put me down!" she snapped, struggling against his hold. She had little time left. She needed to get back into the room before she was unable to stand. She didn't know what would happen after that if she wasn't left to herself.

He dropped her back to the floor and grunted, "Fever. You are not well."

"Yes, I know, now please, I'm serious, just leave me alone."

"Hey, come on, Big Guy. Leave her be. Go make some tea, or something." said Henry, now looking fairly worried. Jesse dashed back into the room and slammed the door just as she felt something rising out of her, nearly consuming her.

"No." she whispered, making her way to the vanity. As long as she kept her normal appearance in site, she assumed she could keep herself sane.

**. . .**

Henry stared at the door behind which Jesse had just vanished. He was concerned for her; he knew what it was like to suddenly be hit with frustrating illness, and to want nothing but privacy. He shifted the small, moaning child in his arms as he spotted Jesse's brother coming down the hallway. "Oh, hey, Jordan. Do you want your son back?"

"In a minute." said the man. Henry noted how exhausted and stressed he look, and how he seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hey, man, you okay? There must be some kind of bug goin around, 'cause your sister wasn't lookin too good, either." he said.

Jordan's head snapped up. "What? Where is she?"

"Dude, chill." said the tech, confused. "She's totally going to stay with the living. She just went into her room, but visiting hours are over and – okay, or you could just go in, that's cool, too." he continued as the brother dashed into the bedroom.

"Jess? You okay?" Jordan asked, spotting his sister by the vanity.

"Jordan. Leave." she forced out through clenched teeth. "Please."

"No, I'm not leaving you." he said quietly. "Not this time. Come here." He stepped forward and tried to wrap his arms around her, but she fought him off.

"I said leave!" she exclaimed, sounding like she was losing control. "It's not – it's not safe around me!"

"You don't know that." he told her firmly. "You're okay, Jess. Trust me."

"No!" she screamed, knocking several things off the vanity table. "There's something wrong with me!"

"No, Jess, you're wrong." he said. "There's nothing wrong with you. You just need to calm down. Deep breaths. It'll all be over soon if you just calm down."

Jesse shook violently as she struggled to stay calm. Her breathing came ragged and harsh, and she kept her eyes closed. Jordan went to her, surrounding her in his strong arms. She began to sob into his shoulder, and he felt her start shaking even more. "Jesse, calm down." he commanded. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Shh, it's okay. I'm here now."

It suddenly hit Jesse that she knew where she'd seen this before. It wasn't after her parents died. It was after every time she had an "episode." This had been happening all her former life. Now that her memory was back, it was happening again.

"Jordan," she whispered once she'd calmed down enough to speak. "this isn't the first time this has happened, is it?"

She heard him sigh. "No. And it's far from the last."

She nodded. "So what is it?"

"We don't know. We've been trying to find out without other people knowing."

Jesse nodded again. "Thank you."

"Anytime."


	3. Changed

"Magnus!" Henry called, looking around her office.

"I'm here, Henry. What is it you need?" she asked, coming out of a room off the side of the office.

"Is there any possibility that Jesse is...like me?" he asked.

Magnus paused and considered him a moment. "Not likely, but I suppose it's possible. Why do you ask?"

"Well, see, I was just with her, and she was acting really weird." he told her. "She had a fever and she was in a huge hurry to be by herself, and it kinda reminded me of what happens before I start to change."

She nodded, thinking. "I didn't find anything in her blood that linked the two cases, but I wasn't exactly looking for it. I suppose I could try to cross-reference it with your blood to find any similarities." she told him.

"That would be great." he said. "And, actually, I really think she doesn't want us knowing about this, so if you wouldn't mind keepin it on the DL that I told you, it'd be appreciated."

Magnus smiled a little. "If I remember correctly, Henry, you were also the same way before you decided to accept what you are for who you are."

"Yeah, I know, and that's why I'm sayin it." he persisted. "The sooner we figure out what she is, the sooner she can accept it."

**. . .**

"What's up, Will?" Ashley asked. "You look like you're a little peeved."

"I'd rather not talk about it." he said, pushing past her and heading down the hall to the kitchen.

"Aw, come on, Will." she pleaded. "Tell me what's wrong."

"If you must know, Jesse's big brother caught us having a, uh, private moment yesterday." he said awkwardly.

Ashley burst into laughter. "Ha! I bet you got your ass kicked!"

"Almost." he grumbled. "What the hell?"

"Whoa." she said as they entered the kitchen. It was absolute chaos. There were pots and pans all over the floor, food stains in every corner, and a few chicken bones stuffed into a corner. "What the hell happened here?"

"I have no idea." Will said, bending down to look at one of the pans. "But, whatever it was, it seems to be pretty strong. Check this out." He held it up for her to see the twisted metal. "That used to be the frying pan."

"Not anymore." she snorted. "Do ya think one of the Abnormals got loose?"

"Only one way to find out." he said, dialing a number on his phone. It rang twice before someone picked it up.

"You've got Henry."

"Hey, Henry, I was wondering if anything got out of the Shoe lately." Will said, turning in a full circle to inspect the damage.

"Not that I know of, why do you ask?"

"Is there a security camera in the kitchens?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to pull it up?"

"Please. And look at the time period of the lest two hours." Will waited patiently while he heard Henry mumble and type on the other side of the line.

"Yeah here it is. Looks like everything's been fine for the last – whoa!"

"What do you see?" Will asked as Ashley sniffed something unrecognizable.

"Well, something got in there about a half hour ago and took out the camera. What are you seeing?"

"A totally wrecked kitchen." he replied.

"Yeah, okay. I'm heading down there with Big Foot. I'll let Magnus know on my way down."

"We'll be waiting." Will replied. He hung up the phone and looked around, seeing if anything jumped out at him. "Hey, Ash, did you see this?" he asked, looking at the wall.

"See what?" she asked, coming over.

"Those marks on the wall. What do they remind you of?"

She shrugged. "Cat scratches?"

"Cat, dog." Will shrugged. "General claw marks. They must be pretty long, too, look at how deep these go."

"What has claws like that in the Sanctuary that's allowed to roam free?" she asked.

"I can only think of one thing." he said gravely.

Ashley looked at him as though he were ridiculous. "Will, please. Do you really think he did this?"

"It is a possibility, Ashley, you can't deny that."

"Yeah, try _very slight_ possibility."

"Hey, guys, I'm here for the party." Henry said as he entered. "What the hell?"

Will and Ashley shared a look, and he turned towards the tech. "Uh, Henry, you wouldn't have...changed lately, would you?"

"No, I've been taking the-" He stopped, mid-sentence and gave Will a skeptical look. "You think _I _did this? Dude!"

"I'm sorry! I just thought, you know, since nothing's gotten out of the Shoe, you were the only one capable of doing that." He pointed at the claw marks on the wall.

Henry approached the marks with a curious expression. "Dude, there is no way I made those. They would have been farther apart and deeper. Nah, this was made by something with smaller paws. If it had paws."

The Big Guy started grunting over in a corner, so they all headed over. "What is it, Big Guy?"

"Bite marks." he grunted. "Small. Sharp."

"Yeah. Yeah, I see them." said Will, crouching down to look at the cutting board on the floor. "You're right, Henry. This couldn't possibly have been you. Look at how close the marks are. Whatever it was is a lot smaller than what you turn into."

"As if there was a question." Ashley snorted.

"All right, I want to know what on _Earth_ has been going on in here." Magnus' voice snapped from the entrance.

"Looks like there's been an Abnormal through here." said Henry.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Don't know, but it's got claws and fangs and it's small."

"How small?"

"Well, I it's more petite, judging from the spacings here." said Will, fingering the bite marks.

Magnus looked around. "Where is Jessica?"

Henry looked back at her and the two shared a look.

"What, what is it?" Will asked, noticing this.

"Nothing. I'll go get her." said the tech, heading out of the kitchen. "Jesse?" he called when he entered the hallway her room was located in. "Jess? We got a problem, we were wondering if you could give us a hand." He got to her bedroom door and knocked. "Hey, Jess? Wanna let me in?"

"Go for it." he heard her groan from the other side. He pushed open the door and found her laying on the bed and looking thoroughly miserable. Her complexion was pale, and she looked as though she had the flu.

"You okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

She groaned. "I think Big Guy was right. I must be coming down with something."

"So, I'm guessing you don't know about the party that went down in the kitchens, then?"

She looked confused. "What?"

"Well, some Abnormal with claws and fangs tore apart the kitchens and now it's all crazy-lookin'." he explained. "You wouldn't know anything about that, right?"

She shook her head, then cried out in pain. She curled up, hands clenching her hair. "Hey, Jess, what's up?" he asked, concerned.

"I – just a headache, Henry, I'm fine." she forced out through clenched teeth. "You should leave. Before you catch what I've got."

"Jess, I'm not leaving." he said. "What's going on?"

"I don't – just go!"

Suddenly, Henry's phone rang. He got up and turned away to answer it. "It's Henry."

"Yes, I know." said Magnus from the other side. "I forgot to tell you what I found when I cross-referenced you and Jessica's bloodwork."

"Okay, go for it." he said.

"Well, you see, I found a few things that were similar, but the one that stood out was the humanoid morphing gene. You were right. Whatever she is, she changes like you do."

"Oh, that's great, Doc, but I think that means she's changing right now."

"I'm on my way."

He turned back around to say something to Jesse when he noticed she'd disappeared. "Jess? Where'd you – ARGH!"

Suddenly, everything went dark.

**. . .**

"Henry! Henry, are you all right?" Ashley exclaimed, kneeling next to him on the floor of Jesse's bedroom.

"I don't know." he groaned. "Somethin' hit me, didn't see what it was."

"Okay, Magnus, what is it you guys know that Ash and I don't?" asked Will.

"We weren't sure, but I think we have no choice but to believe it now." Magnus said, inspecting a spot on the floor. "It seems Jessica can change into whatever she is as Henry does, but she is a far different creature."

"Like what kind of creature?" Ashley asked.

Magnus took a deep breath, seeming unwilling to divulge what she knew. "Do you remember that female monster she told us about? The one that invaded her home when she was twelve?"

"Yes." said Will slowly.

"I believe that's what she is."

"No way." said Henry firmly. "She told us that monster-girl was a murderer that killed her parents. I might not have known Jess for very long, but I seriously don't think she's capable of that."

"Well, maybe not as you know her." said Magnus. "But when she changes she may very well go out of her mind, only taking on animal instincts."

"So you're saying we have a crazy she-monster going around that will kill when she wants?" Will asked.

"Sounds like it." said Ashley. "What do we do?"

Suddenly, they all heard a roar coming from the floor below them. "Oh, no." Henry groaned. "I think I know where she is."

"Will, Ashley, go to the auxiliary staircase and head to the second floor, Henry, come with me down the elevator to the basement." Magnus commanded. They ran from the room in their respective directions, trying to listen for more signs of where Jesse was.

"What's going on?"

Magnus hit the elevator button and turned to see Jordan coming down the hall. Anger flared within her. "Why didn't you tell me what she was?" she snapped.

"I – what?"

"Your sister, Jordan! She changed and now she is running around _my_ facility and a potential danger to my Abnormals! If you had just told me at the beginning none of this would be happening!"

"I swore not to tell!" he shouted back. "We couldn't trust anyone with that secret. Not after our Aunt Janie told the Cabal. I was just protecting her!"

Magnus glared at him, but said nothing. The elevator arrived, and they got in. Jordan attempted to enter as well. "No. You've done quite enough." she said coldly.

"Doctor, please." he begged. "She's my sister."

"Come on, Doc, let him get in." said Henry. "He knows more about her than we do."

She took in his pleading expression and sighed. "Fine. Hurry up."

Jordan clambered into the elevator and they headed downwards. When they arrived at the basement floor, all the lights were off, and a few sparks showered down to the floor every so often. Henry pulled out his taser and flashlight and held them up, carefully making no noise. If they were heard, there was no telling what would happen.

"Jess!" Jordan called in a whisper.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Henry hissed. "What if she hears us?"

"That's what I want." said Jordan.

"How many times has this happened where she's fully transformed?" Magnus asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Three times, to my knowledge." he answered. "Once when she was six, once when our parents died, and once earlier today. I suppose this counts as four."

"And what did you do in those situations?"

"I just tried to calm her down. I was the only one who could. Mom would just leave us alone when it happened." he said simply.

"Doc, you might want to see this." said Henry from a corner by the metal shelves. Magnus hurried over and stared at the spot where he was shining the flashlight. There was a red liquid dripping down the side of the shelves, shining menacingly in the light.

"But that looks like-"

"Blood. Yeah." Henry gulped. "I really hope it's not from the Big Guy."

"Same here." said Jordan. "She's never hurt anyone when she changed. I don't think she'll start now."

"But you've always been there for her, correct?" Magnus asked.

"Well, yeah-"

"But you're not now. There's no telling what she's done. Come on, let's keep moving."

Henry shrugged apologetically at the man as the doctor moved forward. They followed, and it wasn't long before they heard a crash. "That's her." said Jordan nervously. "We must be close."

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a set of shelves came flying at them, hitting Magnus and pinning her to the floor.

"Magnus!" Henry shouted as Jordan yelled, "No! Jess, stop!"


	4. Monster

"Doc, you okay?" Henry asked, panicking. She didn't respond. "Dammit! Jordan, she's out! What do we do?" He looked up and saw the man looking at something in the next room. He seemed terrified. "What is it?"

Suddenly, something came shooting out of the room and tackled Jordan. Henry watched in horror as whatever it was leaped off of Jordan and whirled around to stare directly at him.

She was beautiful. Her raven hair fell to the small of her back, gleaming in the beam of Jordan's dropped flashlight. Her fangs were small and delicate, made for precision and speed. The body was small and slim, her tattered clothes hanging loosely. Her eyes were a bright, glowing yellow while her skin took on a gray color, seeming to be thicker than human flesh. Two small horns protruded from her skull.

She glared at him, crouched and ready to spring should he make any sudden moves. His heart constricted with fear. "H-hey, Jess. I'm, uh, likin' the new look you got. Very sexy." he stuttered. "I-I'm not gonna hurt you. I'll just put this down..." He slowly bent to the floor, placing the gun by his feet.

Jesse let out a low growl, studying his every move with her big, golden eyes.

"Ungh...Jesse..." Jordan groaned from the floor. Her head whipped around, and she pounced on him, slashing at his face with her claws.

"No! Stop!" Henry shouted. "Come pick on me!"

He instantly regretted the offer the minute she turned around and sprang. He looked up into her eyes when she had tackled him, and what he saw shocked him. He'd expected to see hatred, or even wild ferocity, but instead there was only fear. That's when he noticed the numerous cuts on her flesh. Jordan had been right. She'd never hurt anyone because she hadn't wanted to. There was some part of the Jesse he knew that was still fighting to keep control. She kept her uncontainable bloodlust in check by harming herself.

"Jesse, I know you're in there." he said shakily. "Listen to me. You can fight this. I know you don't want to hurt me." Her eyes softened, like she was actually listening to him. "You can hear me, Jess. Let go of your anger. It's your body, your mind. Get control of yourself." he commanded.

She started breathing heavily, and she rolled off of him. He couldn't see where she went, but he knew it was somewhere in a dark corner. "Jess?" he called, getting carefully to his feet. He stumbled in the direction he'd watched her disappear. Very faintly, he could hear sobbing. He followed the sound and his foot came in contact with something soft. "Jess?" he asked, crouching down.

"I'm sorry." she whispered in the darkness. "I'm so sorry."

**. . .**

"Why didn't you just tell me, Jordan?" Jesse asked.

"I promised Mom and Dad I wouldn't." he said sadly. "I intended to keep that promise."

"To what end?" she suddenly shouted. "I almost killed the closest thing I've had to a family in nearly twenty years! Are you kidding me?"

"Jess, please-"

"No." she interrupted harshly. "I don't know what _family_ means to you, but it sure as hell doesn't entitle you to lie and deceive until someone gets killed. Get out of my room, Jordan. I'm getting out of here before anything else goes wrong."

Jordan looked as though he'd been slapped in the face. He said nothing; simply turned away and headed out the door. She knew he was leaving the room a broken man, but she also knew she didn't feel very remorseful.

Jesse angrily opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of shirts, then turned to put them in her suitcase. She stopped dead when she spotted Magnus in her doorway. "What do you want?" she asked flatly, walking over to her bag.

"I want you to stay." the doctor said calmly. "But I know you won't."

"So why are you here?" Jesse asked.

"To say goodbye, I suppose. And to tell you that no one blames you."

"Doctor, it wasn't a robot that threw a set of shelves at you. I did." she said. "How can you guys forgive me for what I did?"

"There was nothing to forgive." said Magnus, and the girl noticed the tears in her eyes. "But I suppose you're not going to listen, so I'll just take my leave. I hope you find a good place to live."

"Thank you. And goodbye." Jesse said, returning to her packing. As Magnus left, the girl went to her vanity to begin packing away the things there. She spotted something that was not hers. It was a thick, pewter ring, on which was engraved, "_I, myself_."

Her eyes filled with tears. It was obviously the gift from Delilah. And the meaning was obvious. She would always be Jesse to her sister-in-law, no matter what creature she turned into. She placed it on her finger and took a deep breath. So much had happened at the Sanctuary in such little time. She needed to let it go.

There was another knock at the door. "Yes?" she said.

"Heard you were leaving."

Jesse closed her eyes for a moment, then turned to face him. "Yes, Will, I am."

"Why?" he asked, looking around the room instead of at her.

"Because I can't risk hurting any of you again." she said. "And, while I'm saying this stuff, I need to tell you that we can't have this relationship."

His head snapped up. "What? Why?"

"Because you'll be my first target should I lose control again." she explained. "I mean, look at what I did to Jordan. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, but still."

"Jess..." he whispered, approaching her. "You know we can help you with this."

"That's just it. You can't. Magnus even said I was the only one of my kind she'd ever seen. You have no idea what you're dealing with. Any of you."

"Jess, please, just listen-"

"Will, _please_!" Jesse begged, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm making this decision for your own good! If you have any respect for me or for yourself you'll let me go."

She knew he wanted to argue. She knew the thought of throwing a tantrum was even passing through his mind. But he would be an adult, as he always was. He left the room in silence, just as Jordan had.

Jesse shook her head, reminding herself of what she was throwing away with this decision of leaving. She spotted her guitar on the stand and decided that maybe a bit of music could heal her pain. She slid her fingers down the strings, the words of a song forming at her lips as she played.

_No, you don't know what it's like_

_When nothing feels all right_

_You don't know what it's like _

_To be like me_

_To be hurt_

_To feel lost_

_To be left out in the dark_

_To be kicked_

_When you're down_

_To feel like you've been pushed around_

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_And no one's there to save you_

_No you don't know what it's like_

_Welcome to my life..._

"Havin' fun?"

Jesse quickly put down the guitar and stood. "What do you think?"

"Well, you seemed to be really into that song, I was just wonderin'..." Henry said, checking out the suitcase and clothes on the bed.

"Look," she said after a moment of quiet. "Will, Magnus, and Jordan have already been through here to talk me out of this and I refused all three of them. So if you're gonna do that, too, then just save it, because there's nothing you can say that I haven't already heard, okay?"

He nodded. "I get that."

There was a moment of quiet in which Jesse neither moved nor knew what to say. Henry seemed very casual and laid back, not sad or confused like the others.

"Heard you dumped Will."

She sighed. She was wrong. He knew exactly what to say that she hadn't heard yet. "I have my reasons."

"Really?" he asked, leaning against the bedpost. "Care to explain? 'Cause Will's a great guy. Better friend than you'll find anywhere else."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand-"

"Oh, really?" he asked, becoming irritated. "Little known fact, I'm just like you."

"NO!" Jesse yelled. "No, you're _nothing_ like me! You're not a – a – a _monster_!"

"Yeah? You don't think so? Well, this'll come as a shock to you, then, because I am. I'm what most people call a werewolf. Of, course, that's not the scientific term, but it's the easiest way to describe myself." he said, tone casual but expression full of anger. "You don't think I'm a monster? Watch me after I lose control sometime. You turn into something beautiful. I'm just a big uber-wolf covered in fur."

Jesse snorted. "Beautiful? If beauty is the equivalent of looking like a murderer!"

"Jess, stop! Just stop!" he snapped. "You have no idea what you've done or what you can do. You don't even know if you've hurt anyone. Stop acting like it's the worst thing in the world."

"WHAT IF IT IS?" she yelled. "What if I'm damned to live the rest of my life not knowing when I'll go off on someone? What if I have to live every day wondering if who I am is a murderer? What if I have to watch the people closest to me die because I'm a freak? Tell me what's worse!"

Henry just glared at her, shaking his head as she tried to calm herself down. It wasn't working. "Tell me!" she repeated.

"No!" he barked, approaching her. She flinched as he grabbed her sleeve and yanked it up, exposing her scratched and scarred forearm. He looked her in the eye, tone becoming gentler. "You won't hurt anyone else."

Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back. "I've already hurt people."

"People is plural." he stated. "As far as I know, you've only hurt one person, and he deserved it. You know as much as I do that there's still too much Jesse left when you change to let anyone get hurt. You know you won't hurt anyone unless you mean to." He held her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "You're not as dangerous as you think you are."

Jesse nodded, wondering how someone she barely knew could have such an effect on her. She nodded and stepped back out of his hold. "I suppose I'll stay, then." she said quietly. "If you can, I can."

Henry smiled and followed as she headed out of the room. "Still think you're a monster?"

She gave him a sad smile. "_Je ne le pense pas, Henri. Je le connaise_."

I do not think, Henry. I know.

**. . .**

**A/N**

**I would like to thank melissaadams22 for being such an avid reader and keeping me motivated. Thank you for the snacks!**

**The song is "Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan.**


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